More of us are working directly from a smartphone, with some people claiming they can spend up to two full days a week working on their mobile device.
A report from National Business Communications, which found almost three-quarters (70%) of office workers it surveyed have worked from a smartphone before.
Approximately two-thirds (66%) said they’d be able to work up to seven hours of their working day on their mobile devices, while a quarter said they could work at least two days per week that way.
Pros and cons
The key advantages of using a smartphone to work are as one might expect: convenience, the ability to work from anywhere regardless of connectivity, and the ease of staying connected.
“There are certainly benefits of working from your mobile - it’s extremely convenient and certain tasks such as sending emails, reading documents, and making calls,” commented James Bolton, Operations Director at National Business Communications. “It’s also a positive given the shift of people working remotely or in hybrid roles - mobile phones really do allow us to easily work from anywhere.”
The only thing the workers would like is to have a bigger screen. For 93.4% of the respondents, they’d prefer using a larger screen and that would be the key factor to stop them from working on a smartphone. Furthermore, half “just don’t like” working from their phones, and 33% said there were no relevant mobile apps for their line of work. Finally, a fifth (19.7%) said their employer would disapprove.
But the researchers argued more downsides and negative impacts on employee performance. “It’s extremely interesting that despite the clear negative impact working from your phone can cause, many people have still worked from their phone before. It’s completely dependent on each person's role, requirements at work, and also personal preference,” Bolton added.
The cons include a negative work-life balance, the risk of distractions from texts and apps, and a potential lack of required tools and apps. Furthermore, there’s the fact that working on a smartphone is slower, the device has limited battery life, questionable ergonomics, and sometimes problematic network coverage and inadequate data plans.
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